


Young Gods

by jlol00



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Multi, POV Alternating, POV Multiple, POV Original Character, POV Third Person, Romance, Trauma, everyone is a little bit bisexual
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-11-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 06:40:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,317
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22689376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jlol00/pseuds/jlol00
Summary: For most people, seventeen is still considered childhood. For these young witches at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, seventeen is the mark of adulthood, it's the coming of age. Nora has a gift, Ava has a secret, and Lily has a destiny. Three witches separated by House, ability, and love find their stories inexplicably linked.
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Marlene McKinnon/Dorcas Meadowes, OC/OC, Sirius Black/Original Female Character(s)
Kudos: 10





	1. (I)

**Author's Note:**

> For most people, seventeen is still considered childhood. For these young witches at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, seventeen is the mark of adulthood, it's the coming of age. Three witches separated by House, ability, and love find their stories inexplicably linked.
> 
> Nora Lockwood has a gift. She can see visions, images of future events. What she doesn't see is Sirius Black. They don't fit in each other's worlds and are as different as two people can be. Nora represents everything Sirius is dying to escape. But looks can be deceiving and in a world as cruel as this, Nora will do whatever it takes to survive and protect those she cares about.
> 
> Ava Allaire was bonded to Nora through trauma and suffering-suffering she has buried deep inside, wishing she could forget. But with her tormentor roaming the halls, there is only so far she can run. Ava soon finds herself drawn to an unlikely ally who tempts her in more ways than one.
> 
> Lily Evans, possibly the brightest witch of her age, is struggling to find her footing as Head Girl. Each day her true feelings are becoming harder and harder to deny as a certain messy haired qudditch player becomes a fixed point in her life. But, Lily cannot ignore the Wizarding War looming over them all just as she cannot ignore that she is a target.

Nora

_December 31, 1975_

Nora watched as the snow fell, fluffy snowflakes dusted the bare branches of trees but melted at contact with the ground. She watched with some amusement as a fat little squirrel scurried up the tree before looking at her through the window. Her gaze glossed over until she could no long see the window or the scene outside, but instead it was as if she was speeding through a tunnel, full of burning green light. She could see familiar faces in the fire, eyes glued to her. Then the image shifted to an old house, empty and decaying. She had a very clear image of a herself even though she looked quite different- dirty and fearful.

Nora blinked back into reality as the door opened behind her and quickly shut again. The squirrel was gone.

She turned around to see her brother, Nicholas, leaning against the wall.

"What?" 

"Are you ready?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

She blinked slowly, trying to understand what he meant. She looked him up and down, seeing him in dress robes.

"Oh, right. The party." She sighed and shook her head. "I just need my shoes."

"Mum hates that dress, y'know." He watched her move around the room, steadying her balance with a hand on her bed.

"Mum hates everything." She huffed, straightening up and finding her balance in the heels.

"Are you alright?" Nicholas asked, eyes narrowing. "Did you have a vision?"

She took a deep breath. "I don't know. It wasn't complete…just some random images." Nora shrugged. She knew it wasn't that simple. He knew that as well. Nora had a rather unique skill with Divination. Her parents had discouraged her from taking the subject and even more from developing her Sight, thinking she had made it up. They did not believe in it, and like most people, thought it a worthless form of magic. That didn't change the fact that she did have visions and found that her predictions were often scarily accurate. Nicholas was one of the few people who actually believed her.

"C'mon. We're already fashionably late to the party." He held out his arm for her and the two left the room. They didn't say anything as they made their way down the hall and to the staircase. Once on the main floor they separated into the throng of people: family friends, colleagues, and anyone her parents thought were important.

"Nora!" A hand pulled her to the side. Noelle Zabini smiled at her. Her hair was smoothed down- it usually was when she was home. Nora always loved with Noelle's hair was in its natural, curled, untamed state, but Mrs. Zabini did not agree.

"Hey," Nora returned the smile, relieved that her best friend was the first person she came in contact with.

"Your mother seems to have outdone herself." Noelle took a sip of a golden liquid. "This champagne is top notch."

Nora laughed. "Where's your date?"

Noelle surveyed the room briefly and shrugged. "Avery is around here somewhere."

"How is that going by the way?

"He's a good kisser, so…fine." Noelle smirked, "I doubt it'll last long."

Nora shook her head. Noelle was, for lack of a better word, a player. Nora was one of the only people that Noelle was actually herself around. Not unlike most pureblood women, Noelle was rather cold on the surface. Emotions could easily be manipulated, so it was better to prevent that. Noelle and Nora had been friends since they were children, throughout their schooling, and now found themselves incredibly close. Noelle was smart, manipulative, and beautiful, but she was unbelievably loyal and full of love.

"Avery probably went off to find Evan." Noelle said, flicking her hair over her shoulder.

"Another person for me to avoid," Nora sighed.

"Just tell him you're not interested." Noelle said.

"You know that's not the reason I'm avoiding him."

"I'd bet he'd leave you alone though." Noelle finished off her drink.

"There you are," Gabriel Avery said, coming up behind Noelle, his arm slinking around her waist. "Hello Nora."

"Gabriel," she nodded.

"Do you want to dance?" He asked Noelle.

"Sure," She said, her expression shifting to an almost picturesque look of sweetness. Nora almost laughed. The two headed off to the dance floor. Nora picked up a glass of wine as a tray passed by. She took a large gulp, before making her way through the crowd. She nodded and smiled at people as they passed. She caught sight of Nicholas with Narcissa Black. Narcissa wasn't looking at him, but at her hands which were tight around the glass in her hands. Nora had only once seen Narcissa's perfect façade crack and that had been when she broke up with Nicholas. She was certain Narcissa loved her brother but in their families, love didn't get you very far.

Nora could feel her mind growing foggy, clouding her sight. She could still see Narcissa but not as she was. She was older, hands touching a face that seemed eerily familiar. _'Is Draco alive?'_

"Nora!"

She jumped, eyes snapping into focus. She blinked and found herself staring into the face of Evan Rosier.

"Evan."

"Are you alright?" He put his hand to her elbow.

"Yes, thank you." She pulled on a smile.

"Good," He glanced at his feet. "I was wondering if we could talk for a moment? Alone?"

"Oh, well, Evan." She frowned slightly. "I don't know if that's a great idea."

"Please," his hand was still on her arm and his eyes locked with hers.

"Alright," she sighed. She took his hand and led him out of the main room. There were people milling about in the hallway so she led him to the kitchen. There were a few house elves mucking about. "Could we have the room?"

The elf standing close to her let out a squeak and bowed low before rushing from the room. The others followed suit. Evan didn't say anything for a moment, just hovered near the counter.

"I know you told me to give you space."

"I remember." Nora shifted her weight and leaned against the door. "I haven't changed my mind."

"I told you I loved you." Evan finally looked at her, his brow furrowed.

"That doesn't change anything."

"Doesn't it?"

Nora took a sharp breath. "Evan, I can't do this with you and you know why."

"No, I don't. You haven't talked to me and you have yet to tell me why you're doing this to us."

"Please, calm down." Nora sighed.

"I know how I feel about you." His jaw clenched.

"You don't really know me," Nora sighed. "We've known each other a long time but you don't _know_ me. You…you don't care about people Evan, just what you can get from them."

"Nora-"

"I saw what you and your friends did to Ava Allaire." Nora said.

"Why do you care about her? She's just some-"

"Mudblood?" Nora finished. "Yeah, well, she's still a person."

Evan opened his mouth as if to retort, but he shut it quickly. A tense silence paused for a moment before he finally spoke. "People like her don't even compare to us."

Nora laughed humorlessly. "I don't give a shit if you hate Muggleborns, I really don't. But I already have a Death Eater for a brother and I don't want one as a boyfriend."

"I'm not a Death Eater."

"Yet," Nora rubbed a hand over her face. "I refuse to get sucked into this 'war'. I don't want any part of it."

"You don't have a choice!" He exclaimed, taking a step towards her. She pushed herself from the wall, and stepped close to him. Their faces were inches apart.

"Would you kill me for the Dark Lord, Evan?" She lifted her hand to his face, lightly tracing his jaw. He seemingly, involuntarily leaned into her touch.

"Of course not." He breathed.

"If I don't have a choice, then you might not either." Before he could say anything else she turned away from him and left the room.

She turned opposite of the direction of the party, and instead stepped through a door to the back yard. A burst of cold air bit her skin as she shut the door behind her and stepped into the yard. She carelessly kicked off her shoes and placed her bare feet against the icy grass.

"Rough night?"

Nora jumped and spun around. Sirius Black was leaning against the wall, just out of view from the door. She felt a flash of irritation. "Can't get away for a second," She muttered and let out a huff of air. She turned away from him, staring out into the darkness before her.

"What are you doing here, Black?"

"Here as in the party or outside?" He said, voice laced with humor. She could practically feel his smirk.

"Both."

"My mother is trying to 'socialize' me." He said. Nora looked over her shoulder at him kicking his shoe at the grass.

"She hasn't figured out it's a lost cause yet?"

"Apparently not." He said and glanced at her.

"She ought to cut her losses." Nora said. "Any idiot could see how pointless that endeavor is."

He made a noise of agreement. The two stood in silence. Nora hadn't spoken to Black in a long time. Once upon a time they had been friends, or at least, friendly. Their fathers were friends which had intertwined their lives early on. He'd been to her house more times than she could count but once they started school, they stopped speaking.

"Here," Sirius said suddenly. Nora watched as he shrugged off his coat and held it out to her. "What? Just because I'm a blood traitor doesn't mean I don't have manners." She cautiously took it, pulling it on for some protection against the wind.

"Thank you."

He nodded, falling into silence once more. Nora looked up at the sky, spotting Sirius- the star. "How is Andromeda?"

"What?"

"I figured you kept in touch…being fellow blood traitors and all." Nora raised an eyebrow, as she faced him. He let out a low laugh.

"She's happy." Sirius eyed her curiously.

"Is it true she had a baby?" Nora asked.

"Nymphadora." Sirius said.

"That's a terrible name." Nora laughed. "She may have avoided the star theme but it looks like Andromeda is still a Black after all, what with a name like that."

Sirius smirked and nodded.

Nora thought for a moment, an odd sensation filling her. "Do you want to see something?"

"What?"

"It'll get you further from the party." She watched him consider it before shrugging. She reached out and took his hand before leading him further into the yard. They reached the edge, where the woods began. He stopped.

"You're not going to kill me are you?" He asked, only somewhat joking.

"Not yet," She laughed and pulled him into the tree line. Her feet followed a familiar path leading her to a slight clearing. It was significantly brighter here than the rest of the woods. There was a pond, the stones on the bottom glittered with a soft glow. "They're moonstones." She explained, letting go of him to stand at the edge of the pond. She sat down, pulling her dress up slightly so she could.

He sat down as well, several feet away.

"I come here when I need clarity." She said. "It's safe here." She looked over at him, unable to read his expression.

"Why did you show me this?" He looked at her, almost with caution.

"I don't know. I just…well it may sound stupid to you, but I just felt it." Nora turned her gaze to the water. "The only other person who knows about this is Nicholas. He found it and brought me here once."

She paused before saying, "I feel connected to life here, to everything, everyone."

"You don't know me." He said, seemingly echoing what she said earlier that evening.

"No, I don't and I'm not pretending to."

**xxx**

Nora opened her eyes, blinking slowly as she came to consciousness. She rolled onto her side only to jump up at what she saw. Slowly she climbed out of her bed, the night before coming back to her. After she had shown Sirius the clearing-for reasons she could not begin to comprehend- they had ended up back at the house and sneaking a bottle of firewhiskey up to her room. She couldn't remember who had made the first move, but it hardly mattered now that he was asleep in her bed and the only clothing she had on was her underwear. With an arm over her chest she quickly grabbed a shirt from her wardrobe before sneaking into the hall. She pulled the door shut behind her and ran directly into Nicholas.

"Good lord!" She exclaimed, nearly falling into the wall.

Nicholas chuckled, "Sorry. I was just going to the bathroom." He looked her over. "Why aren't you wearing pants?

"I…I just woke up!" She hissed. He raised an eyebrow.

"Do you have a guy in there?" He made a face. "Gross."

"Why would you say that?"

"I don't want to know what my baby sister gets up to with guys!"

"No! Not that! I meant why do you assume I have someone in there!"

"Look at you! All guilty and hungover!" She shh'd him. "You're too young to be doing _that_ … who is it? Is it Rosier?"

She gawked at him. "No!"

He made a face that clearly showed he was enjoying this. "What a scandal. My sister getting drunk and hooking up with guy who isn't her boyfriend."

"Evan is not my boyfriend." She hit him.

"Oh come on! You can tell me who it is. You know I can keep a secret." Nicholas smirked.

"We are not having this conversation any more." Nora said. They stared each other done for an intense moment before Nicholas made for the door. They struggled before he finally managed to twist the door knob and they both went tumbling in.

"You dick!" Nora said, trying to catch her balance.

"Oh my god." He said, mouth hanging open in surprise. "Sirius Black?!"

Nora quickly closed the door behind them. "Keep your voice down, would you?"

"You hooked up with _Sirius Black_?" Nicholas looked from her face to the sleeping boy. She opened her mouth to say something but just ended up grimacing. Nicholas burst out in laughter which was apparently what it took to wake Sirius. He sat up blearily, taking in his surroundings and the siblings.

"Good morning sleeping beauty!" Nicholas laughed. Nora punched his arm, but he was enjoying himself far too much to be bothered.

"G'morning." Sirius said rubbing his fingers into his eyes.

"Aw, look at his bed head." Nicholas finally stopped laughing.

"Oh just piss off." Nora groaned.

"I really didn't think you had it in you," Nicholas smirked. He shook his head and made for the door. "Don't worry, your secret in safe with me."

Nora and Sirius stared at each other once he had left, an awkward air settling in. "You should probably go. I'm sure your parents are worried about you." Nora said finally.

He snorted, but got up anyway. She tried to look away as he got dressed, but she apparently was not that strong. He tugged his shirt over his head.

"You can use the floo in here," she said. She gestured to the fireplace on the wall behind him.

He didn't say anything as he grabbed a pinch of floo, but before he could do anything she interrupted him. "Look, about last night-"

"Don't worry about it." He said quickly. "It didn't mean anything."

"Right…" Nora took a breath. "Take care of yourself, Black."

He shot her a quick smile and then he was gone. Nora stared at the fireplace a moment longer before letting out a sigh.

"Here's to 1976."


	2. (II)

Nora

_June 1976_

Nora left her Divination OWL feeling more conflicted than anything else. She knew she would get flying colors for her work, but it was more of what she saw in the crystal ball that had bothered her. The image of her brothers fighting had been so clear. She didn't know where they were, but they had been shouting words she couldn't make out. She didn't know if she had ever seen Mikael as upset in her entire life. As soon as she had seen the image she could feel _something_ shift. It scared her beyond belief.

She tired to push the image from her head as she found Noelle waiting for her in the courtyard.

"Evan has been badgering me more than usual." She said irritably. Nora just frowned in response. Evan hadn't spoken to her since New Year's but had made a point of catching her eye whenever possible and questioning Noelle about her. "I told Avery I'm going to dump him is he doesn't make him stop. He thought I was joking."

Nora rolled her eyes, "Avery is in love with you."

"Love is overrated." Noelle adjusted her bag, "Speaking of badgers, how is your little pet?"

"Ava isn't a pet-she's my friend." Nora said.

"You just feel guilty about what Mulciber did to her because Evan was there and didn't stop it." Noelle said.

"I did and she knows that." Nora sighed. "You'd like her. She's a lot like you."

Noelle snorted in the most lady-like way. "In what, possible way, is she anything like me?"

"She's loyal, good, trustworthy…and I care about her." Nora gave her a pointed look.

"She's a Hufflepuff." Noelle said.

"Noelle," she said. "I trust her."

Noelle sighed, again, irritably. "Alright."

"Come on, let's get lunch before our Defense exam." Nora said and the two made their way to the Great Hall.

The exam had been easy enough. Nora had finished rather early and had just been glancing around when she made eye contact with Sirius Black. He was leaning back in his chair, looking very too-cool-for-school. His expression didn't give anything away but he maintained the eye contact longer than just a passing glance. When he finally turned his eyes forward, Nora kept hers on him. She frowned and then closed her eyes. There was a slight ache in her temple. She could still see the scene of her brothers playing in her mind. There had to be more. She took a slow breath and steadied her hands on the desk in front of her. She focused on her breathing, letting her mind clear. The image of Mikael and Nicholas arguing flashed again but it shifted quickly to something even more confusing. It was Sirius, his arms supporting a girl. Her hands were clutching his shoulders, face pressed against his chest, but her legs seemed to have given out. The pair sunk to the ground. One of his hands was on her back, the other was behind her neck. There was something about the pair that didn't make any sense, and it wasn't the emotions. The girl's hair was a chocolate brown, waving in random spots- the same as Nora's.

Nora's eyes flew open and it took her a moment to realize that she was still in the Great Hall, sitting an OWL exam. "Five more minutes!" Professor Flitwick chirped, weaving between desks. Nora felt a shiver run down her back as she glanced at Sirius. He didn't see her that time. Once the exam was finished, she rushed to Noelle's side.

"I need some air." She said. Noelle furrowed her brow but obliged, following her from the hall and out onto the grounds.

The pair headed a bit of a ways down from a group of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff girls. Ava was among them and she waved cheerily at Nora, who just forced a smile. Nora found a shady spot and sat down, taking a deep breath.

"What's wrong?" Noelle asked, lounging back.

"Nothing really." Nora said, her eyes on the lake. Noelle didn't say anything. She believed that Nora had the Sight, but it made her uncomfortable to think about the future whether it was her own or not. There was something that held her back from sharing what she had seen anyways. She needed to figure out what it meant.

**xxx**

Nora found Nicholas sitting in a compartment alone, writing thoughtfully in a diary. He glanced up as she entered but otherwise didn't say anything.

"What are you doing?" She asked, sitting opposite him.

"Planning," He said, scratching his chin.

She rolled her eyes, "Planning what?"

"Can't say."

"Why not?"

He let out an impatient huff, closed the book, and looked up at her. "Nora, it's a secret."

She blinked slowly. "You don't trust me?"

"No! I mean, no that's not it. I do trust you…" He hesitated, glancing at the open compartment door. He jumped up and shut it quickly, before pulling the blinds down the block anyone from seeing in.

"What is going on?" Nora looked at him curiously. He was definitely acting strange. He sat down opposite of her again and took a deep breath.

"You know how I'm going traveling in a few weeks?

"Yeah. Mum still doesn't want you to go." She shrugged. "So?"

"I'm not coming back."

"You mean at the end of the holiday?"

"I mean ever." He looked at his hands. "I can't be like Mikael. I can't be apart of this war. I can't kill anyone but if I don't become a Death Eater they'll kill me for being a blood traitor. That doesn't exactly give me a lot of options. So I have to leave. I have to disappear because of Mikael and Mum and Dad and this _war_."

"So you're running?" Nora kept her eyes on him, her heart racing. "You would do that?"

He nodded his head, his eyes still glued to his hands.

"You…you would leave me?" She asked. He finally looked up at her.

"They could still kill me, if they found me." Nicholas said. "I don't want you to get hurt because of me."

"They could kill me too. For staying." Nora rubbed her face. "I want to come with you."

"You do?"

"Of course I do. You're my brother!" Nora exclaimed.

"Mikael is your brother too."

"Mikael made his choice, just as you have. Now it's my turn. I don't want to be apart of this anymore than you do." Nora nodded to herself. "Besides, I don't know if you're smart enough to make it without me."

He laughed, finally breaking his serious façade. "You're probably right."

"So. What's the plan?" Nora.

"Well," Nicholas leaned back. "While I'm traveling I was going to set things up-empty my vault at Gringotts, find somewhere to live where no one would think to look, stuff like that. I'd write home until the very last moment so I don't raise any suspicions."

"Okay, so how can I come with?"

"I'll need to figure that out. It's going to take a while to take care of the finer details." Nicholas shrugged.

Nora nodded, "Okay."

"You can't tell anyone- not even Noelle." He said as he opened his journal and started scribbling. Nora's chest felt tight. What if their parents found out? She had always knowm Nicholas was nothing like Mikael. Mikael was very much like their father. He was distant, manipulative, and could be especially cruel when it suited him. He felt passionately about what the Dark Lord was doing and had joined the ranks as soon as he could. There were a number of times Nora had read about Muggle deaths and wondered if her oldest brother was responsible.

There was a sharp knock on the compartment door that broke Nora's focus. She peaked through the blinds and with a sigh opened the door. Evan Rosier was waiting outside.

"Noelle said you went to find your brother." He said, peering inside the compartment as if to make sure it was true. "I was wondering if we could have a word."

"I suppose." She sighed and stepped into the hall, closing the door behind her. "What is it?"

"I was wondering if we could see each other over the holiday." Evan said. Nora raised her eyebrows.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course I am." He frowned.

"Why would we do that? We've barely talked in months."

"You told me you needed space." Evan reached out and took her hand is hers. "I miss you."

Nora sighed, her eyes falling to their hands. "I don't know, Evan."

"Please… would you at least think about it?" He squeezed her hand.

"Yeah, alright." She looked up at him. They met each other's eyes and after a moment he leaned in to lightly kissed her.

"I'll see you later?" He smiled at her quickly before letting her hand go, and walking off.

As if she needed something else to worry about.

**xxx**

The plan ended up as such: Nicholas would leave for his "travels" with a significant amount of money. His inheritance would be moved to his vault in July, after he was already gone. He left his key with Nora, who would move the money into her vault, and over the summer and next year, would withdraw as much money as she could. While he was traveling, Nicholas would be setting up where they would "disappear" to. Nora would return to school in the fall and carry on as normal. By the end of her sixth year she would be of age. Nicholas would supposedly be on his way home to begin his job (arranged by their parents) at the Ministry of Magic. Instead of returning home, Nicholas would fetch her from the train station and the two would go visit their Great Aunt Ora for several months. It was the perfect meeting place to establish the final parts of their plan. Aunt Ora despised their mother so it was highly unlikely that their parents would at any point check up on them. A week before their scheduled return home, they would leave their Aunt Ora's and that's when they'd make their move.

Initially, Nora had been extremely hesitant to agree to it. There were so many parts that could be easily derailed. It was the day before Nicholas was planning to leave when Nora was reading in the Daily Prophet about a family that had been found dead with the Dark Mark above their home. The Death Eaters had even killed the two children. The oldest would have been going to Hogwarts in September for their first year. Why had they been killed? Nora recognized the family's name- Rowle. They were purebloods. The Dark Lord praised purebloods, making it clear they were the only people worth living. It was also known that anyone who didn't support him was at risk. Had the Rowles spoke against the Dark Lord?

No one was safe. It was then that Nora decided that potential failure or not, the plan was worth trying. If they failed, she had no doubt that their mother would find a way to sweep it under the rug. If they succeeded, well, they'd be free.

Since she'd returned home she hadn't had anymore visions. She hadn't actively tried to have any, but normally they'd just flash across her eyes at random. Nora wasn't bothered by this either way. She had always seen her ability with Divination as a blessing and a curse. That's why when she was finally unpacking her trunk after two weeks of being home, she was surprised to realize that she hadn't had any visions. She had pulled out her tarot cards and randomly flipped through the cards until she dropped one. She picked it up and looked at it- Death. Normally the death card didn't bother her. It was about an end, closure. It wasn't necessarily mean anything sinister, but once she saw the card her arms broke out in goosebumps and she was filled with a sense of dread.

A knock on her door pulled her out of thought. Before she could say anything the door swung open and her mother walked in. Nora carefully put away the cards back into her trunk and closed it.

"I'll have a house elf come and take care of that for you." She said.

"It's fine, I like unpacking."

"If you liked it you would have done it by now." She pursed her lips. "Polly!"

There was a loud crack and small elf appeared. She looked around quickly, and bowed once to Mrs. Lockwood and once to Nora. "Miss Nora, Miss Louisa!"

"Unpack Nora's school trunk immediately and then get back to work." Mrs. Lockwood snapped. The elf let out a squeak and hurriedly began unloading the trunk onto Nora's bed. Nora took a step back to give Polly more room.

"Now, Nora, there is something we need to discuss." Mrs. Lockwood, brushed a strand of hair from her face. "I expect you downstairs in five minutes. Your father and I will be waiting." With that she turned and left the room. Nora strode over to the door and pulled it shut.

"Polly you really don't need to do that for me." Nora turned to look at the elf who was busy tidying all of Nora's school books into the bottom drawer of her desk. The elf didn't stop working. Clearly she was more afraid of her mother. Nora just sighed and let Polly carry on. She was moving faster than Nora had been at any rate.

After a few minutes Nora begrudgingly headed for the main sitting room downstairs. He parents were waiting for her. Her mother was sitting in a high-backed chair with her hands clasped on her lab, and her ankles crossed. Her pale blonde hair was neatly curled and twisted into a low bun. Nora never thought she resembled her mother. They both had blue eyes but Nora's were darker and her mother's were an icy blue. Nora's features were a lot softer. Nora's hair was also much darker. She supposed she resembled her father more but still it wasn't quite a match. Where Mrs. Lockwood was fair, blonde, blue-eyed, Nathan Lockwood's hair and eyes were nearly black, and his skin was a warm honey color. Mikael looked very much like their father, all dark as well. Nicholas was a perfect blend of the two with his dark hair and the same icy blue eyes.

Nora glanced at her father who was sitting in an armchair flipping through the Daily Prophet.

"Why don't you take a seat?" He mother gestured to the chair across from her. Nora obliged and waited until she finally spoke again. "We need to talk about your future. You've had your OWLs and it's time to start planning. We've had these conversations with your brothers in the past. I think first and foremost, you need to sort out what you want to do for a living, if anything. Now, you know your inheritance will support you for your entire life should you choose not to work. Your father and I think that whoever you end up marrying, you should not combine your accounts. You can never be too safe."

"Okay?"

"Second, in thinking about your career I think you should drop Divination regardless of your grade." She paused. "It is not a useful subject."

"I don't want to drop it." Nora said without hesitation. "I enjoy it."

"I don't care."

"It is useful. It teaches you to think critically about what you see."

"It's not up for debate."

"You can't force me to drop it. It isn't up to you." Nora said, sitting up straighter. "The courses I take are up to me."

Her mother's jaw tightened and her eyes narrowed, but before she could retort, Mr. Lockwood cut im. "It hardly matters what she takes, Louisa."

She let out an impatient huff before squaring her shoulders. "Very well. Moving on. As you know, the people you associate with matter greatly. Which is why your father and I are working to find you a suitable husband."

"What?" Nora blinked.

"The person you marry is very important. We had always planned on you marrying Sirius Black but given everything, it is out of the question. I think Walburga was hoping you'd be able to bring him to his senses, but we can't risk it. She wants us to consider Regulus given his track record. We will but we are exploring _all_ our options."

"I don't want to marry Regulus."

"Well you might not have to, is my point."

"I'm only sixteen."

"Yes but it's important to plan ahead." Mrs. Lockwood said, smiling. "Now we were thinking about Evan Rosier. I believe he is in your year, and your father and his have been good friends for many years."

"What?! Don't I get a say in this?"

"Of course you do, we are simply weeding out the…duds, so to speak." She smiled again.

Nora looked between her mother and father in confusion. "Are you serious?"

"Nora," Her father closed the paper and looked at her pointedly.

"You have to let us take care of you. You're our only daughter." Her mother said. Nora and her father were still looking at each other. She was searching for an explanation in his eyes but there was none. She shouldn't have been surprised really, but for some reason she was.

"Now, Mikael will be home for dinner and he is bringing some people with him. You'll need to be presentable." Her mother stood up from her seat and looked down at Nora. "Be ready by sixty thirty."

**xxx**

_They stood in an unfamiliar room, each on opposite ends. The first man, dark haired and eyed, kept his expression emotionless but his eyes were full of fury. The other, also dark haired but with piercing blue eyes was crying._

_"You don't have to do this." He said._

_The first let out growl, "It's your fault."_

_"Mikael, please. You're my brother."_

_Mikael said nothing, his face tightened with anger or sadness, it was hard to tell. "You are a traitor! A coward, who has embarrassed us all."_

_The blue eyed boy closed his eyes for a moment. "It's okay. You have to do it."_

_Mikael stared at him, his hand tightly wrapped around his wand shook._

_The pair stared at each other before Mikael raised his wand, illuminating the room with vivid green light-_

Nora sat up quickly, exhaling a sharp breath. The dream had felt so real. She felt her chest restricting as panic set in. She placed a hand to her necklace, the cool stone pressing into her skin as she tried to catch her breath. Was this simply a nightmare or possibly more? Nora had never experienced a vision in her dreams, so there was no real reason for the dread building in her stomach. But, it had felt so horrifically real.

"Nicholas, where are you?" She breathed, clutching at the necklace he had given her.


	3. (III)

Nora

_Fall 1976_

All of her professors had begun by explaining the importance of sixth and seventh years, NEWTs, etc.. Nora hadn't been surprised when she was the only student who decided to take NEWT level Astronomy. She and Professor Sinistra had discussed the possibility of her taking the course before OWLs. Apart of History of Magic it was probably one of the least popular of the core classes students had to take. But Nora loved it. She had a knack for it and easily was able to connect it with her Divination classes. Making the technical star charts for Astronomy and the Astrological ones for Divination was something she found insanely interesting. Her Divination class was not much larger. There were only a handful of students in the course. Professor Mopsus was thrilled to see all of them in the first class saying that all of his favorites had made the cut.

Unlike every other professor who began their first lecture stressing the importance of the coming year, Mopsus decided to take a more relaxed route.

"You may have noticed that we are in a new room this year and the reason is quite simple. I am just too old for all those stairs. Moving on, as you all know this class focuses heavily the skill of interpretation. True Sight cannot be taught, but how you examine the details is an invaluable skill. Up to now, I have taught you various forms of fortune telling techniques such as reading tea leaves, dream interpretation, astrology, palmistry, and so on. We will of course be continuing to do these things and more, but I would like to try something new with you all that I myself am quite new at." Mopsus paused and looked around eagerly at the students. Nora couldn't help but wonder why he bothered since he was mostly blind. "We are going to have a little story time!" He chuckled to himself and waved his wand at the window. The drapes pulled themselves closed, putting them in darkness for a moment before the fireplace was brought to life. Mopsus dropped himself into a rather squishy looking armchair at the front of the room.

"This summer, after you all fled from your OWL examinations, I decided to travel to somewhere I'd never been. I have an old friend- older than I- who lives on the island of Kauai. There is a small herd of centaurs who live on the island. My friend had spent years building a relationship with the herd, which you should all know is an extraordinary feat. Centaurs are very distrustful of humans. But, I met with them and learned from them. I told them that I am a teacher of Divination. The centaurs are extremely skilled at reading the stars and often more accurate than the most skilled human. They normally would never share their skill with a human, but they made an exception. Perhaps the centaurs of Kauai are more open than those here in Europe." He paused to take a sip of his tea. Nora leaned forward slightly, her stomach tightening with excitement.

"The Kauai centaurs explained their method to me and I now would like to share it with all of you. Now be aware that it was very unlikely any of you will master it, as even I have not. Their connection with the universe is very different than ours, and I of course can only teach you what I have learned."

There was a moment of silence while the five students took in this information. "Professor?" A Hufflepuff girl said tentatively. Mopsus turned his head in her direction and nodded for her to continue. "How will we be graded on the, uh, centaur divination?"

"Ah. You will be graded only on your level of effort. If you do not try, you will fail. As I said, I too am learning and it would be quite cruel to grade you on skills I myself do not have." He said. "All other work will be graded as it has always been. If there are no other questions, I think we can end class early. I'm not in the mood to start teaching yet."

With this dismissal the students began packing up. Mopsus flicked his wand once more, this time to extinguish the fire and open the drapes. "Miss Lockwood, would you mind staying a moment."

Nora had just turned to leave. She paused before making her way to the front of the room where he sat. He flicked his wand and dragged a second armchair beside him. She sat down and waited while the rest of the students left. Once the door shut behind them, he turned to face her.

Professor Mopsus was fairly old with thick grey hair on his head and face. His beard was not quite as long as Dumbledore's, but still quite long. His skin was slightly yellow and his eyes had steadily been clouding over throughout the years. He was one of Nora's favorite professors.

"How are you doing, my dear?" He asked, picking up his tea cup.

"I'm fine." She said, crossing her legs. He made a noise.

"Would you like a cup?" He didn't wait for her to answer before producing a mug of tea before her.

"Are you going to read my tea leaves?" She chuckled before taking a sip. It was pleasantly warm.

"Is there something you'd like to know? Or rather, not know?" Mopsus raised one of his grey, hairy eyebrows.

"I'm sure anything you'd fine would be quite dull." She took another drink, glancing into the cup. She could see the leaves swirling in the bottom. "Professor, I was wondering… well I had a dream over the holiday and it felt meaningful, but I've never Seen anything through dreams before- nothing significant anyway."

He hummed, before emptying out his cup and swirling the dregs. "I find dreams to be the hardest to interpret. It's very similar to the crystal ball where it's just images, scenes. It's rarely anything whole or sensible. That's why interpretation can be very tricky. Some of the most talented Seers wasted their gifts because they failed in that aspect. Now, if you find that a dream is especially vivid there are a few possibilities. Of course it is possible that it was just a dream or a nightmare. More likely than not, that will be the case but you will know in your gut if it's something more." He paused and looked thoughtfully at his tea cup. "I do not believe the future is definite. So this vision could be a warning that you must adjust your path or this will be the consequence or the opposite. Seeing is not precise, you know this."

Nora had emptied her own cup and out of habit stirred the dregs.

"Let me see your cup." He held out his hand. Nora obliged. He brought it close to his face. Nora had always wondered how he was able to read leaves or see in the crystal ball with how poor his eyesight was. He frowned slightly and turned it over in his hands. Without a word he passed his cup to her. She looked away from Mopsus to examine his cup.

"What do you see?" Mopsus asked, not lifting his eyes.

"Uh, you have a spiral so creativity, energy…also maybe a cup for celebration?" Nora set down the cup on the little table beside his chair. He looked up finally and copied what she had done.

"You are full of stress, Nora. Change is coming and you cannot hide from it. You need to let go." Mopsus patted her hand. She opened her mouth but before she could speak he started up. "Now, the actual reason I asked you to stay was that I'd like to propose something to you. I would like to do additional lessons with you. I truly believe you have the Sight and I'd like to really work to hone your skills one on one. I've spoken with Professors Dumbledore and Slughorn, and they are on board if you are."

"Oh."

"Horace shared with me that you didn't know what career path you'd like to take after you finish school." Mopsus sighed. "If Divination is something you are passionate about there are a surprising amount of jobs out there that value the skill you have learned but also your gift as a Seer. Now I don't expect you to answer now. Let me know by the end of the week and we can go from there."

"Okay." She stood up and made her way to the door. Before she opened it though she paused. "Professor, did you see anything else in my cup?"

"Nothing you haven't already seen for yourself." He said, his voice slightly softer.

**xxx**

"Nora, are you listening to me?" Noelle asked. Nora looked up at her and blinked slowly.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

Noelle rolled her eyes. "Who is that letter from?"

"Oh, Nicholas." Nora folded the letter and tucked it into her bag. She picked up her toast and turned her attention back to Noelle. "What were you saying?"

"It's really not that important…I was just debating on whether or not Avery is turning into a stalker." Noelle stabbed at her eggs. "I mean, why was he following me around during the Hogsmeade trip? He totally freaked Bertram out."

"I can't believe you went on a date with Bertram Aubrey," Nora smirked.

"Piss off. My point is that if Avery doesn't back off I'll make him." Noelle dropped her fork loudly and picked up an apple. She glanced down the table to where the guys were sitting. Unsurprisingly he was staring at her.

"Didn't you break up with him over the summer?" Nora looked at the group as well, briefly making eye contact with Evan who just nodded at her.

"On the train." Noelle said.

"It's not your fault you're irresistible." Nora chuckled when she kicked her under the table, but Noelle smiled nonetheless.

"Miss Zabini," Professor Slughorn came up behind Nora, surprising her when she heard his voice.

"Professor," Noelle nodded.

"Miss Lockwood, would you come with me?" He said, tone much more serious than she had ever heard.

"Uh, alright." Nora stood up and pulled her bag over her shoulder. "I'll see you later," she added to Noelle.

She followed Slughorn from the Great Hall and down to the dungeons. He led her to his office, and gestured for her to take a seat opposite him. However, she paused in the doorway. Standing near the fireplace was Professor Dumbledore. He turned as they entered.

"Am I in trouble?" Nora asked cautiously as she took a seat. Dumbledore moved to stand beside Slughorn who was awkwardly patting his stomach.

"Oh no, dear." Slughorn said quickly. He looked at Dumbledore with a frown.

"Miss Lockwood," Dumbledore began. "There is something we need to tell you. This morning I received several owls from both the ministry and your parents. You're older brother Nicholas has-"

"No." Nora stood up quickly, the chair scratching against the floor.

"Nora," Slughorn reached out and took her hand. "Nicholas has died."

Nora slowly sat back down, eyes blurring as she stared at the lines on the floor. Her chest was tightening as her mind began to race. "I have to go to class." She swallowed painfully and reached for her bag.

"Miss Lockwood, you have been excused from your classes for the time being. Your mother has requested you return home immediately." Dumbledore adjusted his glasses. "All the arrangements have been made.

"But…I, I can't-" Nora looked between the two men. "I need to pack a bag."

"We can have someone-"

"No, I want to do it. I need to…I'll do it." She got out of her seat and rushed for the door. She pushed it open and took a sharp turn from Slughorn's office. She leaned against the wall once she had rounded the corner. It felt as if all the air had been sucked from her body. She clutched her chest and let her body rock against the wall.

"Are you okay?"

Nora looked up to see Sirius Black and James Potter. They froze at the sight of her. She shook her head quickly and gasped for air.

"Hey, just breathe." Sirius put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes. "Breathe."

"I can't," She gasped and with that the tears began to fall. Sirius reached out and caught her just as her legs gave out. She grabbed onto him, letting out a sob. She couldn't breathe, she couldn't do anything.

"Should I get someone?" Potter asked from a few feet away.

Nora nodded against Sirius. "Noelle." Potter gave a quick nod and took off down the hall, digging in his pocket. Sirius's hand was smoothing her hair, as she cried in his arms.

They stayed like this, sitting on the cold stone floor for a while. Nora had stopped crying but was still shaking against him, her eyes slightly out of focus. Potter came back nearly fifteen minutes later slightly out of breath. Noelle was right behind him, instantly dropping to the ground in front of Nora. She put her hands on her face, and examined her.

"What's happened?" Noelle said, voice steady and calm as ever.

Nora just shook her head, feeling her eyes beginning to sting once more.

"You have to tell me. I can't help you if you don't tell me." Noelle kept her eyes locked onto Nora's as she waited.

"Nicholas," was all she said before tears began to fall once more. Noelle opened her mouth slightly before taking a deep breathe. She gently pulled Nora out of Sirius's arms and into her own. The two got to their feet and Noelle began to led her down the hall towards the Slytherin common room. She nodded to Potter as they passed each other. Noelle guided her the way back to their dorm and sat her down on her bed.

"I have to go home," Nora said softly, the tears falling silently now. Noelle nodded and began to move around the dorm collecting some of Nora's things into a bag. When Noelle finished the bag she sat down next to Nora and took her hand, her expression softer than normal.

"What do you need?" She asked softly. Nora swallowed and closed her eyes. Noelle didn't say anything but instead carefully wiped the tears from her face and smoothed her hair. They sat in the silence together until the door to their dormitory opened. Nora opened her eyes and quickly turned away to hide her face.

"What?" Noelle snapped.

"Uh, Professor Slughorn sent me to get Nora." Aria Greengrass said, her snooty voice slightly higher in pitch.

"I'll take her." Noelle got to her feet.

"He asked me-"

"I said, I will take her." Noelle said and after a moment the door slammed shut. "Let's go." Noelle's voice instantly softened as she shouldered Nora's bag.

Nora took a deep breath before getting to her feet. She straightened her shoulders and shook out her hair. Noelle led the way from their room. The common room was fairly empty as most students were in class. Luckily they didn't have to go far before they were back in Slughorn's office. Slughorn jumped to his feet when they entered. Nora looked between him and the headmaster.

"I'm ready to go."


	4. (IV)

Ava

_September 1977_

_Thick hands wrapped around her throat, squeezing. She kicked out and desperately clawed at the hands. She could feel her blood pumping in her ears. His eyes were locked onto hers, dark and cold. Her knee finally made contact with something and the weight lifted off of her. She gasped for air, rolling onto her side. She tried to get to her feet but she was hit with pain so intense she felt pinned to the ground. She screamed, but no sound came out._

" _I will kill you!"_

Ava sat up straight, struggling to breathe. She carefully touched her neck, the skin hot. She took a deep breath, her throat sore even though it had only been a dream. After a moment she pulled her bed hangings to the side and reached for her watch. It was five in the morning. Despite how exhausted she felt, she knew she wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. With a groan she climbed out of bed and quickly changed into a tank top and a pair of shorts. As she made her way to the door, she grabbed a pair of sneakers. Ava left the safety and comfort of the Hufflepuff common room, lightly jogging up the stairs to the Entrance Hall. The castle was quiet though she was positive she could hear one of the portraits snoring from the second floor.

Ava took a deep breath as she pushed open the doors and stepped onto the grounds. The grass was slick with dew and the sky was still dark. Ava pulled her hair into a loose ponytail before taking off running. She went to the quidditch pitch. It reminded her of the track near her house. She didn't particularly enjoy running, but it cleared her mind. At some point all the memories, anxieties, and nightmares would slip away until all she could see, hear, or feel was her own breathing. When the sun began to make an appearance, Ava slowed to a jog before coming to a complete stop. She leaned over, hands on her knees as she caught her breath. She glanced at her watch and decided she needed to head back if she wanted to shower before breakfast. She walked slowly, listening to the birds sing with the early morning sun. As quietly as possible she opened the door and slipped inside. She wasn't technically breaking curfew, but she also wasn't interested in running into Filch this early. Just as she reached the staircase to the basement, the door opened again, this time for three dirty looking Gryffindors. James Potter spotted her first and gave her a quick wave. This wasn't the first time they'd run into each other. Ava went for an early morning run whenever she had nightmares, and she had them often. Because of that, she was usually running into the self-proclaimed Marauders sneaking in or out of the castle. She didn't know what they got up to and frankly, she didn't want to know. Ava started walking to the stairs and only later would she wonder where Remus had been.

**xxx**

Ava slid into her seat a few minutes late. Thankfully Slughorn had his back to the class and was digging around in a cabinet. She was at a table with Vanessa Collins, Marlene McKinnon, and Lily Evans. McKinnon and Evans were nice enough, but Ava was just not drawn to Gryffindors. Everyone always seemed to group Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs together as natural allies, but Ava couldn't see it. Especially since Gryffindors used "puff" as an insult regularly.

Vanessa was probably Ava's closest friend. They had met on the train their first year. Even at eleven, Ava had thought Vanessa was beautiful with her long, effortlessly wavy hair (she later learned Vanessa braided her hair every night to get the effect), and her blue eyes had matched her denim jacket exactly. At the time Ava had been in awe of her. Both her parents had gone to Hogwarts and she spent the entire train ride telling Ava everything she knew. When they were both sorted into Hufflepuff, they decided to stick together.

Vanessa nudged her. "Where were you at lunch?"

"Library. Nora and I were studying together for Transfiguration."

Vanessa hummed lightly, but didn't say anything. Vanessa still, after a year and a half, wasn't sure what to make of Ava's friendship with Nora Lockwood, but she never said anything bad about her either. Ava knew that Nora's friends felt similarly about it, though she suspected they were not nearly as supportive of their friendship as Vanessa was. Vanessa's attention became distracted suddenly by Sirius Black. They had been flirting with each other non-stop since term started. It was mostly harmless and even though Vanessa had had a crush of Black since third year, it was never going to go anywhere. Black was in a long term, on-off again relationship with McKinnon. They were decidedly off at the moment, but it was only a matter of time.

Ava looked around the room and paused on the Slytherins. They were all together, not bothering to mix with the rest of the class. Noelle Zabini, Nora's best friend, was whispering to Severus Snape who was scribbling something in his textbook. They were an unlikely pair. Snape was pale, almost waxy looking. His hair was long, limp, and greasy and he looked perpetually angry. Zabini, on the other hand, had warm golden bronze colored skin, completely unblemished. Her features were soft and delicate, except for her eyes. They were sharp and calculated. Also, a very lovely hazel color. Zabini was not one of Ava's favorite people. She was snide and cruel, and known to hex anyone who got on her bad side. Across from her, Evan Rosier and David Mulciber were laughing, completely unaware of whatever serious conversation was happening around them. Mulciber glanced up and caught her gaze. His grin widened and he winked at her. Ava looked away quickly, her throat closing.

"Are you alright?" Evans asked softly, clearly having seen the exchange. Ava just nodded and pulled out her textbook, letting her hair act as a curtain between her and the Slytherins.

Slughorn began his lesson. Ava spent most of the lecture aimlessly doodling in the margins of her book, trying to clear her mind. She had forgotten she had class with him today. No amount of running would change that. By the time Slughorn dismissed class, she had filled the chapter with drawings. She shoved her book into her bag and jumped to her feet, almost immediately bumping into something sturdy.

"Sorry—" She began. Before she could turn around she felt a hand press against her lower back.

"Don't worry about it, Allaire.""

She could feel his breath on her neck. She spun around, practically falling back onto the table.

"Oi! Personal space, meathead!" Vanessa exclaimed. "Back off." He raise his hands in surrender, shooting Ava a smile before moving on. Ava watched his back as he pushed out of the room, before turning to Vanessa who was frowning.

"What a creep," She said. "Let's go." Ava trailed behind her until Vanessa made a point to slow down.

"Did you hear what he did to Mary MacDonald?" Vanessa asked. Ava shook her head. "Well, I heard about it from Marlene. I guess it happened right before OWLs. He used an Unforgivable Curse on her."

"Did she tell Dumbledore?"

"No. She was terrified he would come after her again." Vanessa sighed, finally managing to pull a pack of sugar quills from her bag. Ava's stomach churned at the sight of them. "I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up a Death Eater."

Ava made a noncommittal noise, her skin crawling as if he was still touching her.


	5. (V)

Ava

Ava stretched her body, attempting for some sort of release. She was currently in the library with Nora Lockwood and Noelle Zabini. Ava knew Nora was trying to get Ava and Zabini to at least be friendly, though ideally friends. Ava was positive that all three of them knew it was a lost cause. Nora was flipping through their Transfiguration textbook looking deflated. Ava had been hoping to talk to her alone, but unfortunately Zabini was right there, writing the Potions essay Slughorn had set that day.

They were all silent, and though Ava normally was unfazed by silence, this was stifling. She couldn't help but lose focus. Finally she closed her textbook with a pronounced thud. "I don't think I'm going to get anything done right now."

Nora looked up and gave her a sympathetic look. Zabini paused, but did not move otherwise. She just kept writing her essay, her quill scratching against the parchment.

"I think I'm gonna go." Ava said, pulling her bag into her lap.

"Okay," Nora said, her blue eyes kind. "Maybe we can meet up tomorrow during a free period?"

"Sure," Ava gathered her things and stood. "See you." As she made her way from the table she heard Nora let out an annoyed huff.

"Do you have to be so cold to her?" Nora hissed.

"She's your friend, not mine." Zabini returned, her voice flat.

Ava gritted her teeth and hurried out of the library. Zabini was infuriating. It wasn't like she wanted to be friends with her, but at least Ava attempted to be civil.

Ava made it to the basement rather quickly after taking a shortcut. She tapped the barrel with her wand and slipped into the entrance. The Hufflepuff common room was one of Ava's favorite places. It was a wide, circular room lit by small circular windows near the ceiling. Part of the reason Ava loved it so much was all the plants. There were regular plants like ferns and spider plants as well as magical plants. They hung from the ceiling, were set on wooden shelves, and there was at least one pot on every table. It helped the room feel alive. All the hangings were a sunny yellow, and there were large armchairs spread around the room. Ava spotted Vanessa and some of her other dorm mates at a cluster of armchairs beneath one of the windows. Ava crossed the room and dropped down on the arm of Vanessa's chair.

"Hey!" Vanessa exclaimed, smiling widely. "Where've you been?"

"Library." Ava shrugged.

"Hestia was just telling us about the latest prefects meeting."

"Did something happen?"

Hestia Jones nodded with a wicked smile. She was rather tiny, but could be quite scary when she wanted. "Well, so you heard that they made Potter Head Boy?"

"Honestly, Dumbledore must've lost his marbles." Emmeline Vance chuckled.

"Right well, Evans has been going absolutely mental. She won't even let him speak at our meetings." Hestia rolled her eyes. "Her face goes completely red any time he makes a noise."

"How did he end up Head Boy? He wasn't even a prefect." Ava said.

"No idea." Hestia said. "Honestly, I think Evans is going to kill him by the end of the year."

"I'd be surprised if they made it that long." Vanessa added.

"How are you all getting anything done?"

"Evans—she completely steamrolls him." Hestia shrugged. "I'm sure they'll figure it out eventually but she's going to go gray if she doesn't relax."

"I never really did get why she hated him so much. I mean, Potter is quite good looking and he's got a good sense of humor." Vanessa said. She crossed her legs and leaned back. Ava was struck by how effortlessly cool she looked.

"I don't think she does though." Ava said after a minute.

"She yells at him every chance she gets." Emmeline said. "I think that's a pretty good sign she doesn't like him."

"I don't know. It all just seems a bit much, yeah?" Ava shrugged.

"Well they'd be one hot couple if they ever did get together." Hestia said with a smirk.

"I don't know if Hogwarts could handle it." Vanessa laughed.

The topic shifted then to the newest Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. Everyone was still trying to decide if he'd be decent or not, but Ava quickly lost interest and decided to go to her dormitory and take a nap. It had been a long and exhausting day. Ava found her cat curled up on the foot of her bed, surrounded by a fluffy throw blanket Ava's sister had sent her as a gift. She ran a hand over the cat's sleek fur. He lifted his head with a chirp and blinked sleepily at her. She gave him a smile before he tucked his head away. Ava loved her cat. He would occasionally sleep on Vanessa's bed, but mostly he ignored her dorm mates. Ghost was a slender, slick furred black cat with large green eyes. She'd only adopted him after her fifth year. She'd always wanted a cat of her own and when Ava saw him in the shelter, she knew instantly he was meant to be hers.

Ava took off her robes, but couldn't be bothered to remove her uniform before she climbed into bed, careful not to jostle Ghost, who promptly leaned his head against her foot. Ava pulled her bed curtains and let her mind wander. Before her fifth year, she'd always been so excited to return to Hogwarts, to see her friends. She loved everything about the school. She felt so...magical when she was here. But that was before. Before she'd been attacked for being a Muggleborn.

It had happened just before Christmas her fifth year, and when she went home for the holiday, still healing, her parents adamantly didn't want her to go back. She often wondered if she should have listened to them; she felt unsafe at Hogwarts, but this was the only place she was her full self. She was a witch and she couldn't be that if she left school. It didn't help that her attackers were always around, sat in her classes.

She made so many mistakes out of her fear and she didn't want to make the mistake of leaving Hogwarts. Every time she thought of her failings, her body filled with shame. If only she had told the truth about what had happened to her, what they did—what _he_ did. If only she had been more skilled at defensive magic. If only she hadn't been out so late that night. If only—

"Ava?" Vanessa called, "Are you in here?" Vanessa pulled back the bed curtains and sat down on the edge of her bed.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Ava grumbled.

"Did something happened?" Vanessa asked. When Ava just shrugged, Vanessa sighed and laid down next to her so they were face to face. "You know you can talk to me."

Ava swallowed thickly, her stomach tightening. "I know."

Vanessa's green eyes were locked onto her. "I'm always going to be here for you."

Ava nodded, taking in her friend...her soft eyes and the curve of her lips. Ava squeezed her eyes shut and rolled onto her back.

"Whatever it is, it'll be okay." Ava felt Vanessa get up. "C'mon, let's go get dinner. You'll feel better once you eat."


	6. (VI)

Ava

As September drew to a close, the seventh years found themselves swamped with work. It was reminiscent of fifth year, but marginally worse. Ava felt as if she was being slowly crushed to death under the weight of all the books she had to carry on a daily basis. She found herself becoming increasingly irritable. It wasn't exactly the way she'd imagined her final year at Hogwarts would go.

"They set the first Hogsmeade date," Vanessa said conversationally as she flicked through the newest edition of Witch Weekly. Ava looked up from the Care of Magical Creatures homework that she'd been working on.

"I don't know if I'm going to go." She said after a moment. Vanessa shot her an annoyed looked.

"Why? You love Hogsmeade!"

"What is there to do?" Ava asked as she sketched a hippocampus, a mer-horse.

"There are loads of shops and there's always the Three Broomsticks," Vanessa said. "You love Butterbeer."

"Everyone loves Butterbeer." Ava sighed.

"It's still a month away. I'm sure you'll change your mind." Vanessa flipped the page. "You've been rather moody lately." She added this after a moment, keeping her eyes fixed on the magazine.

"I'm just...overwhelmed." Ava said rather lamely. Vanessa didn't say anything but Ava could see that she wasn't actually reading. "V, what are you going to do when we leave school?"

"For Hogsmeade?"

"No, you ditz, forever." Ava tossed a chocolate frog packet at her.

Vanessa chuckled and bit the head off the frog. She always ate the head first. "Dunno."

"No idea?"

"Well…" Vanessa set down the magazine in her lap. "I quite like the idea of being a writer. I could work for a magazine or the Prophet."

"You could write novels." Ava suggested. "Remember all those short stories you use to write?"

"What do you want to do?"

"You know I want to stick with Herbology."

"Yeah, but what would you actually do? It's not like you could teach at Hogwarts with Sprout here."

Ava had thought about this many times since she'd had the meeting with Sprout before OWLS two years ago. "Well, I don't have to teach. I'd really love to travel and try to discover new plants and herbs. Maybe I could have my own little shop."

"Basically we're both going to be poor for a very long time." Vanessa laughed.

"Pretty much," Ava looked back at her homework, feeling rather unmotivated. "I think I'm going to go for a walk, wanna come?"

"Nah," Vanessa said, curling up in her chair. "I'm rather comfortable."

"I'll see you later."

Ava left the common room and made her way up the stairs to the Entrance Hall. It was pretty quiet for a Sunday. She figured most people were spending the day doing homework. There was a chill to the autumn air, but she felt fine in her jumper. Rather than actually walking the grounds, Ava headed for the greenhouses. There was a rather nice meadow behind them that most people ignored. You had to walk through some bushes to get there, but once you did it was like a new world. There were all sorts of flowers ringing the clearing, and the trees kept it rather secluded. The grass was soft and green and if she laid down on her back, she would have a clear view of the sky, which is exactly what she did. It was a cloudless day and the sky was a brilliant blue. She felt so at ease, running her fingers through the cool blades of grass. She closed her eyes and it was almost as if she could feel the earth breathing with her, enjoying the company.

Of course her peace couldn't last. At the sound of someone approaching Ava sat up and pulled her wand from her pocket. She was beyond surprised when Noelle Zabini stepped into the clearing.

"Hi?" Ava said, watching the other girl. Zabini looked around and surveyed the area.

"Hello." She said finally, looking at Ava who was still on the grass. Zabini closed some of the distance between them, but made sure to leave a good amount. Her expression gave nothing away but Ava noticed her tugging at the sleeve of her robes almost as if she was nervous. Ava wondered if Zabini was aware she was even doing it. "I've come to apologize."

"What for?" Ava frowned.

"For not being friendly I suppose." Zabini said, tucking a curl behind her ear.

"Did Nora put you up to this?"

Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "No… Sort of. She's been trying to get us to be friends since, well, whenever the two of you became friends. I haven't tried at all and I suppose that makes me a bad friend. So, I'm going to try and be... nice to you."

"Okay."

Zabini's face was borderline emotionless and Ava couldn't help but wonder if this was a Slytherin thing. Why did they all try to hide their emotions? They stared at each other in an awkward silence before Ava cleared her throat, "did you want to sit or something?"

"No." Zabini said instantly.

"Alright, well if you want to stay you can...I don't mind." This wasn't really true, but Ava figured it was the nice thing to say.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Whaddya mean?"

"You haven't got a book or anything with you."

"Oh, I just wanted to be in nature. It helps me think, you know?"

"Not really." Zabini cautiously lowered her body until she was sitting in the same spot she'd been standing-close enough to have a conversation, but far enough that they weren't sitting together. "I'm not much of an outdoors person."

"You don't say."

"I live in a city." Zabini pulled her knees to her chest. "I like the noise."

"You live in London?" Ava guessed.

Zabini shook her head. "Our family home is in a wizarding village outside of Cardiff, but my father works for the International Magical Corporation department so we travel. He's an ambassador. Over the summer we were in New York. We always stay in cities."

Ava found all of this extremely interesting. The most she'd ever traveled was to France to visit family. But she was more interested in Zabini. She'd never known anything about the other girl, she hadn't even noticed she was Welsh until that moment. If she listened closely she could hear the touch of an accent, but it was soft.

"Can I ask you a question?" Zabini's eyes were on her face, watching her carefully. Ava nodded, meeting her gaze. "Does it bother you that your friendship with Nora is based out of guilt?"

Ava blinked and raised her eyebrows. "I wouldn't say it is, but I guess it would seem that way to you."

"Why are you friends then?"

It suddenly occurred to Ava that Zabini might have felt insecure about her own friendship with Nora. The two had been friends since before Hogwarts and neither had branched out much. From what Nora had told Ava, it had always just been the two of them. At least, until she and Nora became friends.

"Nora was kind to me when she didn't have to be. It was probably guilt, but she never had to do anything about it. She was there for me." Ava could remember when she woke up in the Hospital Wing after everything that had happened and Nora was sleeping in a wooden chair, waiting for her.

"She's a good person." Zabini said, her voice soft.

"I'm sure she thinks you are too." Ava said.

Zabini's lips twitched. "I suppose you don't?"

"I generally try and assume everyone is a good person until proven otherwise."

"Most people aren't good."

"Everyone is at least a little good, even if they're mostly bad."

Zabini actually smiled at this, "you're an optimist."

Ava's stomach fluttered at Zabini's smile. She ignored it. "I take it you're not?"

"I've learned to expect the worst because that's usually what happens."

"Don't you find that sad?"

"Maybe," Zabini shrugged. "It just seems safe to me."

"Can I ask you something? Now that you're attempting to be friendly?" Zabini nodded at this, though Ava noticed her eyes narrowing. "Last year I was...sort of dating Remus Lupin. You and Snape saw us in the library. Do you remember?"

"Yes."

"Snape said all those horrible things about Lupin-"

"And you. I remember."

"I don't care what he said about me." Ava said dismissively. "Why didn't you do anything? You just stood there while he...you just stood there."

"What would I have done?"

"You could have joined in and called me a Mudblood and Lupin a werewolf." Ava said.

Zabini flinched at the word, but Ava continued. "You could have told him to stop."

"I don't have to explain myself to you."

"No, but you should." Ava smiled slightly when she noticed Zabini's cheeks tinged with pink.

"Fine." She said, her voice clipped. She got to her feet and straightened her back, as if preparing for a fight. "I didn't like you. When I don't like people I like to see them hurt. It's just how I am."

Ava thought about this and got to her feet as well, and closed the distance between them, standing only a few feet away. Zabini took a step back. "Why didn't you like me? I never did anything to you."

Zabini pursed her lips, her jaw tightening.

"Tell me." Ava urged, taking another step forward. "If you really want to try and be friendly or be my friend or whatever, you have to be able to talk to me, Noelle." Her name felt weird on her tongue, as if it was a word she wasn't meant to say.

"I'm not comfortable discussing this anymore."

"You don't have to be." Ava frowned at her. "Just tell me the truth."

Zabini leveled her gaze, her face hardening. "I'm protective of the people I care about. I'm protective of Nora."

"I wouldn't hurt her. I don't think I even could if I wanted to." Ava shook her head.

"It's not you I'm worried about." Zabini said.

Ava blinked in confusion for a moment, but then she understood. Of course she understood. "You're worried what will happen to her because I'm her friend...because I'm a Muggleborn."

Zabini finally looked away and sucked in her cheeks. "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has killed for far less."

"What's he care about a couple of schoolgirls?"

"You don't get it. What he cares about, others do. Many others. Some of those people are at this school."

"It's not like they'd kill her." Ava scoffed.

"Some of them attacked you a couple years ago." Zabini took advantage of their height difference to look down at her. "Did they need to kill you to get their point across?"

It was Ava who took a step back this time. Her throat constricted and her heart began to race.

"That's what I thought," Zabini took a sharp breath. "After they sent you to the Hospital Wing it was Nora who told on them. She took your side over them-people she's known since she was born. She turned them in and if you think they forgot that, you're wrong. It doesn't matter that she's dating Rosier again or that she spends her free time with them."

Ava shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. "I didn't ask her to do that."

Zabini shrugged. "You asked me to tell you the truth."

Rather than reply, Ava took a deep breath and walked past the Slytherin. At the edge of the clearing Ava paused and looked over her shoulder. Zabini hadn't moved. Despite the desire to flee and forget this conversation had ever happened, Ava spoke.

"You said you didn't like me...past tense."

Zabini turned to look at her and Ava was taken aback at how expressive her face was in that moment. Her eyes were wide and glassy, her face was full of shame or sadness or both. Before she could respond however, Ava turned and headed back to the castle.


	7. (VII)

Lily

Lily roughly dried her hair with a towel as she exited the bathroom. It was still before curfew, but Marlene and Alice were both in the dormitory as well. The two sat on their respective beds, chatting over some article they'd read in a magazine. Lily dropped onto her bed, brushing her damp hair from her face as she stared at the ceiling. With an annoyed huff, she grabbed a book and began to read. Lily had been in a sour mood all day. Potter had spent their entire prefect meeting trying to interrupt and undermine her. Then, at dinner, she'd received a letter from her mum who tried to explain as delicately as possible that Petunia didn't want her at the wedding.

Overall, it had been a rubbish day.

She just couldn't focus. Potter was so infuriating. Everything he did drove her mental, from his stupid hair to his stupid grin and-

Lily slammed her book shut and tossed it on the floor. She got to her feet and began to pace. Marlene looked over at her quizzically before copping her expression. Marlene shifted slightly, so that she was facing Lily and providing her undivided attention.

"What is his problem?!" Lily exclaimed. Alice jumped, surprised by the outburst. "Why does he insist on ruining my life?"

"Who?" Alice asked.

"Potter!" Lily whipped her hair over her shoulder. "Why is he even Head Boy? It doesn't make any sense at all. He did nothing to earn it."

"Well," Alice said thoughtfully. "He gets good marks."

"He wasn't even a prefect! Head Boy and Girl are always prefects first! I checked."

"He's quidditch captain."

"How does that possibly qualify him to be Head Boy?!" Lily shook her head. "And don't even get me started on his stupid hair!"

"What about it?" Marlene asked innocently.

"Why is he always messing with it? Has he never used a comb before? God, it's like Potter thinks his hair looks good like that-always messing with when he flirts with every girl he sees."

"Why do you care?"

"I don't!"

Marlene chucked, "Right…"

"I just don't get it. He's always annoying me and asking me out."

"It's almost as if he likes you."

"Please! I know he's just trying to make me look like a fool." Lily felt her face flushing...but that was only out of anger.

"Lily, you've got to relax." Marlene said, leaning back casually. "I really don't think he is trying to make you look like a 'fool.'"

"Why don't you just give him a chance? I mean, honestly, what've you got to lose at this point?" Alice said nonchalantly, flipping a page in her magazine. Both Marlene and Lily looked at her, staring until she looked back at them.

"Are you having a laugh?"

"No," Alice said. "Potter seems to actually really like you."

"What-"

"I mean, why would any sane teenage boy continually ask out someone who has been rejecting him for two years straight?" Alice shrugged. "That's got to count for something."

"He's doing it for a laugh!" Lily exclaimed.

"Lil, Potter is a nice guy...underneath it all. You ought to give him a chance."

"How do you know?"

"Well Frank gets on well with Potter and his mates. He's a good judge of character." Alice shrugged.

"Yeah, but Alice, just because Frank thinks they're a laugh doesn't mean they aren't a bunch of maggots." Marlene laughed.

"You dated one of those maggots." Alice pointed out, "Several times, in fact."

"I'm going for a walk," Lily said as she put on her slippers and slipped her wand into her robe pocket.

The other two girls continued talking as Lily left, heading for the common room. Since there was still some time until curfew, the common room wasn't packed but there were several groups of people hanging out. Lily snuck through the portrait hole as discreetly as possible. Once out in the corridor, Lily headed to a quiet spot she'd found. It was a blank stretch of wall on the seventh floor. It was one of the few places in the entire castle not entirely covered in portraits and because of this, it was quiet.

Lily sat down opposite the bare wall, stretching out her legs. The stone floor was cool through her pajamas.

She needed time to think in general, but there were many things that demanded her attention. There was Petunia and school work and Head Girl duties and Potter...but at this moment she let her mind wander. Unfortunately it wandered in a direction she had little interest in exploring- Severus.

She knew he watched her. She'd caught him staring too many times to count. She knew all he wanted was to apologize and be her friend again, but she had been down that road before. She spent so long ignoring the truth about a lot of things, but especially about how Severus saw people like her.

_Mudbloods._

Part of her blamed Potter for how their friendship ended. If only he hadn't picked on Severus, if he hadn't asked her out, if he had just...not been there. Maybe, they would still be friends. Maybe not. Severus made his choices and Lily made hers. She wanted to believe that he was good, that he was that same little boy who told her she was special.

Lily sniffed and wiped her face. She hadn't even realized she was crying. She got back on her feet and headed for the common room. It was a lot busier now then it had been when she left, but there was an open chair near the fireplace. She sat down and watched the flames. Her mind now shifted to Petunia, as it often did after thinking of Severus. As pointless as it was to blame the end of her friendship with Severus on Potter, she found herself thinking of how Severus had played a large part in the end of her relationship with her sister. They had been so close as children but Petunia couldn't forgive her for being different. Sometimes, Lily couldn't either.

"Evans, just the lady I wanted to talk too!" Potter's voice broke Lily's haze. She blinked and turned to look at him, suppressing the urge to roll her eyes. As soon as they made eye contact his hand jumped to his hair.

"What do you want Potter?"

He smiled widely, not paying attention to her please-leave-me-alone tone. He sat down on the arm of the sofa nearest to her.

"I've been thinking-"

"That must be new for you."

"-that we should get together."

Lily raised her eyebrows. He was still grinning, but after a moment his brain seemed to catch up. "Oh! Not like a date, Godric no-not that I would love to-I just meant, since we both Head Boy and Girl we ought to work some things out."

Lily hadn't been expecting that. "Work what things out?"

"I wanna pull my weight." He shrugged, "I've got the job, might as well do it."

"Are you serious?"

"No, I'm-"

"Don't say it!"

"-James! That never gets old."

"Yes it does," Lily could help but laugh at him.

"Nah," He waved a hand dismissively. "So, what do you say?"

"You really want to help?"

"Beats the alternative."

"Alright,"Lily said after a moment. He looked at her quickly with wide eyes, clearly not having expected her to go for it.

"Really? Cool, cool, cool." He ruffled his hair.

"We can meet at lunch tomorrow. " She got up and headed for the girls' dormitories.

"Yes!" He jumped to his feet as well. She shot him a look before going up the stairs. Once she was out of his view she smiled to herself, her face warm.


	8. (VIII)

Lily

Lily hovered anxiously outside the Great Hall. She could see Potter and his mates laughing, eating sandwiches. She could also see her friends sitting a little bit down from the guys. She hadn't told them she was going to be sitting with Potter. Part of her hoped he had forgotten their meeting, but just then he caught sight of her and waved excitedly. Lily took a deep breath and walked into the Hall. She stopped when she reached them, nodding politely at his friends.

"Evans!" Potter smiled widely. A few people glanced over at him, no doubt wondering if this would be the beginning of a fight. She caught Marlene's eye, but just sighed.

"Potter...Lupin, Black. Where's Pettigrew?"

"He just took off- had to meet with Sprout about an essay of something." Black shrugged, not really looking at her.

"We'd better be off as well." Lupin said suddenly, hauling Black to his feet. Black made a noise of protest but otherwise complied. "See you later Prongs."

Lily watched after them before finally taking a seat across from Potter. The plate in front of her was suddenly spotless, ready for her to fill. She grabbed a turkey sandwich and cautiously took a bite.

"So," she said, glancing up at him.

"So."

Lily studied him for a moment. He was in his uniform, though the sleeves were rolled up and his tie was loose. He wasn't wearing his black robe. His hair was stuck up at all angles as always, perpetually messy. Lily had no idea if it was naturally that way or not, but it hardly mattered considering how often he rumpled it up. She spotted a quidditch book stick out of the bag beside him, several pages earmarked.

"You can help make the prefect schedule." Lily said. "And, it would be good if you reminded them they have to fill out two slips when they give out detentions. One for the individual and one for us."

"I can do that."

"Okay," Lily nodded. "I'm going to send out a note to all the prefects as well, with a schedule of our meetings for the rest of term. They've already got their round assignments for the next few weeks so we can wait until then to give out new schedules."

She watched as he took out a quill and a crumpled scrap of parchment. Potter wrote a few notes in his messy script. "Is that all?"

"Well," she picked at the crust of her sandwich. "Right now our patrols are scheduled separately. We could...do them together."

His mouth dropped open slightly.

"Is that alright with you? Potter?"

"What? Yes! Yes, of course! Patrols together!"

Lily rolled her eyes, before letting her gaze wander back to the book in his bag. "How's the quidditch team?"

Potter's face lit up like Christmas. "Do you like quidditch?"

She shrugged in a noncommittal way rather than responding.

"I think we've got a strong team this year. We lost some good players, but you should see the new line up."

"Yeah?"

"Definitely. You know Meadowes' brother? He tried out and I've got to say he is the fiercest second year I've ever met. Honestly, the kid is wicked with a bludger." Potter took a breath, about to go on, but he hesitated. "I'm sure you don't want to hear about that though."

"Oh…" Lily blinked in surprise. She was definitely a quidditch fan. She wished she was better at flying, but she never could quite get the hang of it. On some level she knew that Severus had bad mouthed Potter so often because he was worried she wouldn't be able to ignore how skilled he was on the quidditch pitch, but honestly, there was more to liking someone than how well they threw a quaffle. "Right, well...it's almost time for Charms."

"Right, right!" His legs were bouncing.

"Are you alright?"

"Why'd you ask?"

"You seem incapable of sitting still."

He laughed loudly, "it's all the pent up energy of trying to stop myself from irritating you."

"I thought you enjoyed irritating me." Lily rested her chin on her hand. She couldn't help the way her stomach flipped when he leaned in slightly, his eyes twinkling.

"Only sometimes." He said, his voice just slightly deeper.

"Well lucky for you, you're very good at it." She leaned back and got to her feet. She shouldered her bag and looked at him expectantly. "Well? Are you coming or not?"

Potter jumped up eagerly and jogged over to her. He ruffled his hair again. "Who would've ever thought I'd be walking Lily Evan to class."

"Certainly not me." Lily said. "And you're not walking me _to_ class, you're walking with me."

"What, this isn't your fantasy come true?" He smiled at her warmly.

She pursed her lips. "Don't push your luck Potter."

"Aye, Aye, Captain." He saluted her and began to march.

"Would you knock it off?" She asked, exasperated, but even then she couldn't keep the humor from her voice. He was just acting so...silly. "Just because I'm Head Girl doesn't mean I won't hex you for being a prat."

"Oh, I'm sure."

They arrived outside the Charms room and Lily became distinctly aware of the surprised looks she was getting. She ducked her head and quickly joined her friends.

"Was that Potter you were just with?" Dorcas asked incredulously.

"We were dealing with some prefect issues." Lily shrugged, feeling very shy about the whole thing. Now that she was distanced from him, she was positive she had been flirting with James Potter. "Honestly, I think I'm losing it.

"Why, because you had a civil conversation with him?" Mary MacDonald chuckled.

"Probably because she liked it." Dorcas said, her eyes widening instantly. "Good Godric, you did!"

Lily's face flushed. "No-"

"Oh my God!" Mary exclaimed, letting out a giggle. Before Lil could deny it, Marlene and Alice rounded the corner and joined their fellow Gryffindors, oblivious to their discussion.

"Honestly Alice, it's really not that big a deal." Marlene was saying. She turned to get confirmation from the others when she paused, her brow furrowing.

"What's going on?" Alice asked, looking between the three girls.

"Nothing-"

"Lily likes Potter!" Mary interrupted quickly.

"That is not what happened!" Lily exclaimed, her face only growing more read.

"I mean, I know I told you to give him a shot, but that was only last night!" Alice laughed, her bright eyes alight with joy.

"No-that's not-honestly we were just talking about rounds!" Lily covered her face with her hands.

"Alright, alright. Leave Lily alone," Marlene said, though she was smiling. "Her feelings are all very new to her." The rest of the girls laughed, clearly enjoying Lily's suffering.

Still smiling, Dorcas took pity on her and changed the subject. "What were you and Marlene talking about when you came over?

"Oh, we don't really need to get into that." Alice's cheeks were tinged with pink. Part of Lily wanted to help her out, but having just been thoroughly embarrassed, she was relieved not to be the center of attention.

"Our lovely, delicate, little Alice here is thinking about finally losing her virginity." Marlene said, grinning wickedly.

"What, really?" Mary asked, her blue eyes wider than before.

"Well," Alice tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Frank and I have been together for a while now."

"About a year right?"

Alice nodded. "I love him and since I'm going to see him on the Hogsmeade trip in October…"

"Do you want to...ya know?" Mary raised her eyebrows suggestively.

Alice's cheeks grew significantly more pink and her voice was soft, "yes."

"Like I said," Marlene leaned against the wall, shaking her hair back. "It's no big deal."

"It can be." Lily said. "If you want it to be."

"Well, I want it to be special." Alice said.

"It wasn't a big deal for me." Marlene said nonchalantly. "Well, _it_ was big, if ya know what I mean.

Lily felt her mouth drop and heard her friend laughing. "Marlene!"

Marlene just shrugged her shoulders with a small grin. Before they could say anymore, Professor Flitwick opened the doors and class began.


	9. (IX)

Lily

It was slow at first. The way Lily’s feelings changed. With each passing day she found herself far less annoyed and more amused. Then that amusement shifted. It wasn’t quite excitement, but she would look forward to seeing him--even at a distance. She looked forward to their rounds, when it was just the two of them going through the dark castle. She had begun to relax around him, enjoying his company. She wasn’t sure why, but she also found herself holding back from telling her friends. She was sure they would tease her but ultimately support her feelings--whatever they were. Regardless, she kept them to herself, kept him to herself. 

James had been a constant in her life since day one at Hogwarts. They’d first met on the train all those years ago and she’d found herself disliking him rather instantly. As time went on she only seemed to find more and more reasons to dislike him. While his constant bullying of Severus had been the primary point of tension for years, there were other things. He was annoyingly clever. Where others had to work and study, he simply did. He was a natural at magic and despite never seeing him actually do his homework, he always seemed to get top marks. It was a constant effort on Lily’s part to remain top of her class. Everything seemed to come so easy to him. It certainly didn’t help that he was handsome and charming, it seemed almost as if the world were built to his benefit. 

The first time he’d asked her out she nearly choked. Quite literally, she’d been drinking some juice when he sauntered over and asked her. She had a sore throat for a week after. Lily had avoided him as much as she possibly could after that. She had no idea whether or not he was serious. Between nearly dying and Severus’ reaction to the whole thing, she wanted it to never happen again. But it did. It began to happen more frequently, and in increasingly inappropriate moments. Every time he did, she quickly dismissed it. Lily had no interest in dating him (so she told herself) or even entertaining the thought. She didn’t like him, but things changed. 

Lily found herself now spending time with him in between classes and during their Head duties. He’d offered to help her with her Transfiguration, even as he hastily insisted she didn’t need it. She offered to look over his Quidditch plays, helping to suss out the weak points where the other team could get an advantage. She found him funny and smart, not that he hadn’t always been but now she wasn’t irritated by it. Lily felt determined to keep her feelings strictly professional, or friendly, at least. Every time she found her mind wandering, it was put to rest by a small voice in the back of her mind. 

_ Was he trying to make me look like a fool? _

“You alright? Lily?” A hand suddenly waved in front of her face, startling her from her thoughts. Lily looked around her quickly, gathering her bearings. 

“Yeah?” Her eyes landed on Dorcas, who was sitting across from her. Dorcas gave her a pointed look and gestured to their homework. 

“It was your idea to study.” Dorcas chuckled. “I would have been just as happy doing nothing.”

“Sorry, I’m just feeling a bit out of it.” She shifted in her seat and picked up her quill, trying to remember what she’d been writing. 

“When was the last time you took a break?”

“Who has time for that?” Lily scoffed, returning to her Ancient Runes translation. 

“You have to take a break every now and then. Otherwise you’re going to burn out, and then you’ll probably die...that would really suck.”

“I’m not going to die!” Lily looked across the table, trying to keep her voice down to avoid the anger of Madam Pince. 

Dorcas just shook her head and flipped the page of the textbook she was reading. As she refocused, Lily couldn’t help but study her. Her friendship with Dorcas had not blossomed as naturally or easily as her friendship with Marlene and Alice. Dorcas had always had a sort of quiet fury about her, her eyes intense and curious. It seemed she could undo a person with just a look. Lily, even at age eleven, has found her intimidating. Dorcas had seemed much older when they first met. Once Marlene had broken down her walls, Lily quickly attempted to befriend her but Dorcas held back from her. They toed the line of friendship and acquaintances until part way through fourth year. Though Marlene was by and large Dorcas’ best friend, she and Lily were close. They understood each other in a way the rest of the girls didn’t. They had family troubles around the fact they were witches. Mary, also a Muggle-born, was cherished by her family. They found it thrilling. While Lily’s parents loved and supported her, they did not understand her and as for her sister...well, it was complicated. Dorcas understood that. And though she had never liked Severus, Dorcas understood her friendship with him the most of anyone. 

“Lily? You’re staring at me.” 

“Sorry.”

“Come on,” Dorcas shut her book. “We’re taking a break.”

“I can’t, I’ve still got so much--”

“No arguments.” Dorcas got to her feet and gave Lily a threatening look. With a deep sigh, she obliged, following Dorcas out of the library. They headed out into the cool autumn air. It was nearly Halloween and it seemed all the warm days were officially behind them. 

Despite the chill, the fresh air did her good. They walked through the courtyard, coming to a thick wall that overlooked a rather steep cliff, giving a rather amazing view of the grounds. Dorcas causally climbed atop the wall, dangling her feet over the edge. Not one for heights, Lily simply leaned against the wall, looking around the courtyard. They were quiet for a moment, listening to a bird that flew overhead. 

“So, what’s on your mind?” Dorcas asked suddenly, her tone just slightly too casual.

“Nothing--” Lily paused and looked down at her hands. “Nothing, just thinking about things, you know?”

“Sure.” Dorcas looked down for a moment before shifting so she could see Lily, one leg still hanging over the edge. “What kinds of things?

“Things like…” Lily fished for a cover, but her brain seemed to betray her. She came up with no viable excuse. She knew she couldn’t pass it off as school work or Head duties, Dorcas would see right through that. With a sigh she admitted, “James Potter.” Lily peeked over at her friend, expecting her to be laughing or rolling her eyes or...instead, Dorcas simply nodded and looked at her with her intense eyes. 

“I figured as much.”

“You did?”

“You’re not the most subtle person, Lily.” This time she did smile, but there was no ridicule or judgement behind it.

“I don’t like him.” Lily said defiantly. 

“Yes you do.” Dorcas said calmly. “There’s nothing wrong with it, you know.”

“I feel like such an idiot--a hypocrite.” Lily sighed. “He was always such a bully, just because he could be. The way he treated Sev--Snape...there was no reason for it, no excuse.”

“What he did was wrong and nothing changes that...but he’s grown up a lot. He’s not that same arrogant kid.” Dorcas hesitated before saying, “I think he was jealous.”

“Jealous of what?”

“Snape. I mean, think about it. Snape was your best friend for years and Potter has always liked you...Snape got to hang out with you and know you...I think Potter was just jealous because he couldn’t figure out why you liked Snape.” Dorcas shrugged. “I don’t think it helped that Snape kept spreading rumors around, insisting something was off with Lupin.”

“He saved Severus’ life, you know?” Lily frowned. “ Sev always said Potter was just trying to save his own skin, but…whatever happened was serious.” 

“He asked me once why you hated him so much.”

“Who, Potter?”

“Yeah, it was sometime last year. He was helping me with some Transfiguration work...He has been a complete ass on more than one occasion, but I think...he’s not so bad.”

Lily smiled slightly, “I think you’re right.”

“Is that such a bad thing?” Dorcas’ eyes hadn’t left her face. “I know you, Lily, and I know that you need to hear this. It is okay for you like James Potter. It always has been.” 

Lily looked at her hands, digesting those words. “I keep thinking...I don’t know, it’s stupid really.”

“Tell me.”

“It just feels like I’m betraying Severus, by admitting I like James. He was always so...angry and jealous of him. He hated that James was a star quidditch player, that he was popular, and talented. And, Sev had every right to hate James for how he treated him but...I think it drove him crazy because, maybe, he knew I’d always had a crush on James. I never admitted it to anyone, not even myself but, even when I hated him, I liked him. I felt--feel so guilty for feeling this way.” She sucked in a sharp breath and blinked quickly, trying to prevent any tears from falling. 

“How you feel is not a betrayal. You always stood up for Snape and now...you aren’t even friends. I know that doesn’t make you feel any better, but you were a good friend to him, despite everything.”

Lily just shook her head, trying to clear her eyes. She let out a breathy laugh, “God, for all I know James doesn’t even like me! I might be making a big deal over nothing.”

“Are you joking?” Dorcas nudged her playfully. “The boy’s only been asking you out every chance he got for, what? Two, three years?” After a moment of laughter, they let silence come back around them. 

They stayed like that for a while, enjoying the fresh air and each other’s company. After some time, the air grew too cold for them and they hurried back into the castle, just in time for dinner. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all, long time, no write. 
> 
> I still love Harry Potter, but I recognize it's flaws, I will do my best to avoid such stereotyping and implicit prejudice in my own work. I do not share the opinions of the author, She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Her opinions are based in hatred and ignorance. If you think as she does, kindly fuck off. 
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I got a bout of inspiration after watching approx. 100 marauders supercuts/music video edits on youtube. 
> 
> If you're ever curious how I imagine these characters please let me know! I'd love to share how I'm seeing them. Some of my "fancasts" are pretty standard, and some are out of left field. 
> 
> The next chapter will be returning to Nora's POV!  
> I hope you all stick around!


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